Vancouver author Carrie Mac won the CBC Creative NonFiction Prize Monday for If You Have a Good Seal, the Chest Will Rise, a short story about a drug overdose in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

“If You Have a Good Seal is a startling, hard-hitting story that lets us ride along with a newbie paramedic. Written with crisis energy and a real vulnerability, this dramatic piece takes us to a place few writers can access … an affecting and mind-bending read,” the prize jury said.

Mac used to be a paramedic, an experience that contributed to this story, which she said is about the first time she gave Naloxone, a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose.

She has written several novels for young readers, as well as literary short fiction. Mac wins $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and her story will be published in the October edition of Air Canada’s enRoute magazine. She will also receive a 10-day writing residency at the Banff Centre.

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Vancouver author wins prize for Downtown Eastside short story

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